Tom Morello Talks Sticking With The Same Gear All These Years

[Ryan84]

Tom goes against everything we know and our tone chasing gear assessment ways. It’s crazy to think he essentially uses the same gear he bought off the bat (guitar/amp/pedals) nearly 30 years later. He just focuses on his writing and craft instead of the gear. I can dig that super simple philosophy just have never been able to embrace it.

 

[Multi Angle Vise]

 

[sunking101]

I'm not a Morello fan but I find his take on gear very refreshing.

 

[mooncobra]

Good for him. Although, I don’t much care for his tone.

 

[sahhas]

I think it’s interesting, but he’s banned from TGP, same gear since the early 90s, is he crazy???

 

[KFBR392]

Good for him. Although, I don’t much care for his tone.

His Strat on the neck pickup sounds badass through that JCM800 channel switcher. Respectfully disagree with you there

 

[Ryan84]

I'm not a Morello fan but I find his take on gear very refreshing.

I never thought of the whole limit yourself to mastering what you have gear wise. Since so much of the tone chasing is trying so much stuff comes out each year. It sounds ideal though to just be content with a simple setup.

 

[Prof. Lawnchair]

I am a big fan of his and like the way he thinks








about making music.

 

[donnievaz]

Very interesting philosophy that's clearly worked out well for him. He also made me think about the inspiration we get from different gear though. I know different guitars inspire me to play differently. Amps as well to a lesser extent. In my opinion while his philosophy was crucial to his development I feel like he may be limiting himself at this point. Which is fine, it's worked for many others like Angus & Malcolm, Slash, etc.... I just think with his level of creativity there's no telling where he'd end up.

 

[erickkuhni]

I admit that I like my guitars. Still, he's pointed in the right direction with this. Make music is the priority.

 

[blackmonday]

I love messing around with all the latest and greatest gear, buying interesting guitars, etc. At the end of the day I take the same amp and guitars to a gig. For me, scrutinizing gear is a time waster when I should be creating music. But I can’t help myself

 

[hendrix2430]

I wish I thought a bit more like him...

 

[VintagePlayerStrat]

Whenever I take a break from TGP, my playing improves.

 

[1973Marshall]

This is so spot on. Sure it’s not right for everyone but if you’re serious about music go make the music.

His attitude wouldn’t work for me in that I’ve recorded many tracks where a switch in gear was warranted to get the sound but the point was making the music not A/Bing gear.

Overall I’m shocked at one I can do with a Strat, clean amp and some dirt boxes and this is coming from a self-proclaimed “I’m not a Strat guy” who’s been lying to himself apparently lol

 

[pup tentacle]

It was another annoying interview by one of the biggest posers around, yet I found it somewhat enjoyable because Tom is too smart to fall into any of his tired old traps. He guided him back to topics of his own choosing whenever Stern attempted to veer into nonsense he wasn't interested in, or put words in his mouth. Still, he pretty much had to straight out tell him to plug his radio shows since he either ignored doing so, or forgot to, until the very end of the interview.

Listening to Howard try and talk about music makes me nauseous. He's borderline tone deaf, and a fakey fakerton of the highest degree! The most important things to him are what people wear, and how much they make.

Tom is great. I've been a fan of his playing since the debut of RATM. That album is a masterpiece.

 

[Emigre]

Food for thought. A cool approach to music and the instrument. Thanks for sharing op

 

[NailedIntoBarrels]

His Strat on the neck pickup sounds badass through that JCM800 channel switcher. Respectfully disagree with you there

Same, I've always loved his tone and how it fits the mix with Tim's huge bass tone. Love those split channel 800s, the best guitar tone I've heard in person was a tele straight into one of those.

 

[RonKing34]

Whenever I take a break from TGP, my playing improves.

when I started gigging again, I completely lost interest in TGP. It’s only since Covid restrictions in my area that I’ve been back. Truth be told, I’m not missing a whole lot.

 

[Devin]

It's probably easier to think that way if you are... actually a successful musician.

 

[j_el_jee]

I wasnt “into” Rage, but I definitely took notice that when he rocked a massive crowd he only had partscasters and a single 4x12. That said a lot to me. And to some degree, still does.